


Popcorn and Cranberry Garlands

by Bellakitse



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Confessions, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-05
Updated: 2013-12-05
Packaged: 2018-01-03 12:29:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1070482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellakitse/pseuds/Bellakitse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A moment  between Derek and Stiles a long time coming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Popcorn and Cranberry Garlands

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt was 'sterek-decorations'

Derek Hale is sitting on the floor of his loft with a needle and thread in his hand and two bowls, one with popcorn, the other with cranberries in front of him, next to him, pressed shoulder to shoulder sits Stiles Stilinski with needle and thread in his own hands. Derek watches as the younger man’s tongue peeks out as he concentrates on passing the thread through the needle hole and he can’t help the small smile that crosses his lips when Stiles lets out a sound of victory.

“What?” Stiles questions when he turns to him and finds him smirking. “I don’t have super werewolf eyesight that makes passing the thread easy, I have plain old human eyes.”

Derek curbs the impulse to tell Stiles that with their color being like liquid amber, the last thing his eyes are is boring. He’s been curbing impulses like that for a while now.

“Okay, so, now I’m going to teach you the wonders of popcorn and cranberry garlands, trying not to eat the popcorn.”

“I’ll try to control myself,” Derek answers dryly.

“No, no,” Stiles shakes his head. “I was telling myself, my mom would always tell me that before we started.”

“Oh,” Derek responds softly.

“Yeah,” Stiles smiles. “This was our tradition, dad has even less self-control would eat all the popcorn, so I would help her, now she was big on red, so we always did popcorn, cranberry, cranberry, cranberry, popcorn, but you can pick a different pattern if you want.” 

“No,” Derek answers as he reaches for his first popcorn. “Let’s do it the way your mom liked.”

Stiles smiles again softer. “Thanks.”

Derek nods as he goes for a cranberry. They work silently, their hands brushing against each other whenever they reach into the same bowl, a current seeming to pass through Derek every time they did.

“My mom loved Christmas,” Stiles says after a while, the garlands growing as they worked. “I mean she loved all the holidays and always made a big deal out of them, but she loved Christmas best, said it was the time for miracles.”

“Cora was like that,” Derek shares. “We all enjoyed it, but no one more than Cora.”

“It’s nice,” Stiles gestures to the loft that is starting to come together with Christmas spirit. “That you are getting this place ready for when she comes to visit, it’s sweet of you.”

Derek shrugs his shoulders hoping that Stiles can’t see that the tip of his ears are now pink. “Thank you for helping.”

Stiles returns his previous movement, stringing more cranberries. “No big, I like Cora.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Stiles grins as he looks over at Derek. “She’s like a mini you, what’s not to like?”

“Careful Stiles,” Derek starts, his tone teasing as he reaches for more popcorn, if his heart is beating a little faster, well, he’s just thankful Stiles doesn’t have werewolf hearing.” “That almost sounds like you like me.”

“Well yeah.”

Derek stops, dropping the popcorn back into the bowl and turns to look at Stiles. There wasn’t hesitation in Stiles’ answer, no nervousness in his heartbeat, no lie. “When did that happen?”

Stiles chuckles lightly, dropping his own work, his hands a bit sticky and stained from the popcorn and cranberries. “I have no idea, one day you scared the hell out of me and I wanted you gone.”

Derek rolls his eyes. “Thanks.”

“And,” Stiles continues ignoring the sarcasm. “Then on day it just flipped, I found myself relying on you and being actually grateful you were around cause I’m sure more than one of us would have died if you hadn’t been.”

“I’m pretty sure more than one of you has been in danger of dying _because_  of me.” Derek points out, quietly. “Some did.”

Stiles shrugs again. “Sometimes bad shit happens.”

“A lot.”

Stiles nods. “And when it does, you are the first to want to fix it, make it better, so yeah, I grew thankful to have you around.”

“And now you like me?” Derek questions helpless to stop himself.

“I think that happened when you left with Cora,” Stiles admits, his face open. “Bad shit was still happening, the darkness you know, and I found myself wishing you were here to help, and then I just found myself wishing you were here period.”

Derek swallows as Stiles looks at him, his eyes bright and a small kind smile on his lips. “I’m here now,” Derek gets out.  _‘I won’t leave.’_

“I’m glad,” Stiles answers as he picks up his strand of garland again.  _‘I know, I won’t either.’_

This time when they both reach for a cranberry, their hands don’t just brush, their fingers interlock.

Neither lets go.

**Author's Note:**

> let's [tumble](http://bellakitse.tumblr.com/)


End file.
